Shorter one of 100 schools to place both men's and women's teams on exclusive list

Shorter's men's and women's soccer teams were named Academic Team Award winners by the NSCAA

Dec. 16, 2009

Kansas City, Kan. - The Shorter College men's and women's soccer teams were honored as 2009 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award Winners as announced by the organization Tuesday afternoon.

A total of 579 soccer teams (144 men, 335 women) posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, therefore earning the NSCAA honor.

Shorter was one of only 100 of those schools that had both their men's and women's programs recognized.

"This is quite an accomplishment for the both teams to have such great grade point averages once again," said Shorter head coach Josh Severns, who has coached both the Hawks and Lady Hawks over the past four seasons. "To be put in a group of 100 programs to have both men's and women's teams recognized as All-Academic is an honor.

"I am proud of the players' commitment to being true student-athletes."

The Lady Hawks boasted a team GPA of 3.44 while the Hawks followed up with a 3.43.

The teams placed a total of 17 athletes on the Southern States Athletic Conference All-Academic Teams. Each team had four players named as NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

O'Garro, Kyle Timberlake, Livesey and Stihler - who was also the SSAC Defensive Player of the Year - were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

For all of the squads' success in the classroom, that same success was enjoyed on the field in 2009.

The Lady Hawks finished fourth in the grueling SSAC and advanced to the conference semifinals with a commanding, 3-0 result over Southern Wesleyan. The women's season came to an end at the hands of eventual national champion, Lee University.

The Hawks tied a school record for wins, finishing the year 12-6-2 overall and also advancing to their second straight SSAC semifinal. Shorter was the league's top offensive team, setting school records for goals (55), assists (48) and goals per game (2.75).